Land as a Site of Remembrance: An Ethnographic study in Barkly East

Student Number: 9606978D Masters in Social Anthropology School of Social SciencesThis thesis is an examination of the ways in which people in Barkly East, a small town in the Eastern Cape, attribute feelings of belonging to the land they own and work. In a country such as South Africa, where the contestation of land is prominent and so integral to the political and social discourse, questions related to the idea of belonging are necessary and important. Significant questions addressed by this thesis are: Who belongs and why do they feel they belong? More importantly, the question of who does not belong, is addressed. In Barkly East a tug of war exists between groups and individuals who want matters to remain constant and those who need the status quo to change. What stands out, moreover, in this community, is its duality on many levels of society, which is played out both consciously and unconsciously. This duality is also manifested through social, racial and economic relations, and is supported by an unequal access to land. This thesis identifies three main elements which contribute to the creation of narratives of belonging in Barkly East. Firstly, history and the perception of history create strong links between personal and communal identity, which in turn reinforces and legitimises claims of belonging. Secondly, hierarchy in terms of gender and race plays an important part in this narration, as some residents are more empowered in this process due to either their gender or race. And three, the connection to the land that people appear to have, plays a definitive role in narratives of belonging. Those who feel they have a heritage in this place also feel a connection to the land. For this reason, land for these people embody, not only the physical space of somewhere to belong to, but becomes an integral ingredient to the act of belonging and even identity formation

A framework for gender equality and social inclusion in agribusiness transformation in East and Southern Africa

A Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) approach is fundamental to agribusiness transformation in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Work package 5 aims to bring about inclusive and scalable agribusiness innovations through targeted GESI support to UU ESA work packages 1-6. To achieve this, we produced this GESI framework on social, economic, political, and institutional barriers and opportunities to more inclusive agribusiness in the ESA region. This framework will ensure that planned interventions under UU are designed and implemented to empower more women and youth as farmers, agribusiness owners, and actors with voice and visibility across agribusiness value chains. The GESI framework was produced by reviewing relevant literature and talking to agribusiness stakeholders, especially women and youth, in four initial countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Research and innovation cooperation in the South Atlantic Ocean

The ocean provides a diversity of services, which range from food, minerals, energy and transportation to biodiversity and cultural services such as tourism and heritage. Achieving a balance between harnessing these services to support social and economic development and protecting the resource base remains a challenge.For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that the percentage of stocks fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 10% in 1974 to 33% in 2015. According to the Ocean Health Index, natural products, coastal protection and carbon storage at a global level all saw steady declines between 2012 and 2016. The South Atlantic Ocean is described by the International Hydrographic Organization as stretching from the equator in the north to the Antarctic continent in the south, and is broadly bound by South America to the west and Africa to the east. According to the Ocean Health Index, South Africa, bordering the South Atlantic in the east, is ranked 45th (out of 221) on the overall score, whereas Brazil and Trindade on the other side of the South Atlantic are ranked 126th. South Africa’s highest ranking (21st) is on the ‘Carbon storage’ metric and its lowest ranking (144th) is on the ‘Clean water’ metric, whereas Brazil and Trindade’s highest rankings (26th) are on the ‘Sense of place’ metric and their lowest rankings (162nd) are on the ‘Livelihoods’ metric. With the UN General Assembly Resolution 71/312 calling for, among others, action to ‘Develop comprehensive strategies to raise awareness of the natural and cultural significance of the ocean, the above metrics provide guidance on areas of strength on which to build and areas in which to improve. World Wildlife Fund South Africa reports that 14% of South African linefish species are overexploited and that the stocks of 52% of linefish species have collapsed. This proportion is significant, as small-scale fisheries in South Africa support the livelihood of more than 28 000 households directly, whereas indirect employment is provided by the commercial fisheries to more than 100 000 employees. In Brazil, catches peaked at just more than 950 000 tonnes in 1985, whereas sharp declines on the abundance of the main target stocks caused catches to drop to around 600 000 tonnes/annum between 1990 and 1999, before recovering to just more than 700 000 tonnes in 2016.Sustainable management of ocean resources is a global issue that requires cooperation. The strongest recognition of this need is the inclusion of a Sustainable Development Goal on the need to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise partnerships (SDG 17) in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.Research and innovation are key areas where partnerships can play a crucial role to sustainably manage resources to support the aspirations of the present generation and maintain the development potential for future generations.https://www.sajs.co.zapm2020Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa and CGIAR Initiative on Gender Equality: Stakeholder Consultation Workshop

A stakeholder consultation workshop was conducted by the CGIAR Initiatives on Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi) and Gender Equality on 31 January 2023 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The workshop aimed to identify and address barriers that limit participation of women and youth and how these are addressed in an ongoing "Veggies for People and Planet" program at the World Vegetable Center. The workshop also sought to investigate existing opportunities and recommend possible integrated solutions for more equitable and inclusive value chain development

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

The construction of natural resource scarcity : a qualitative study of two case study villages from Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract: Scarcity of natural resources in our world today is a serious issue but also controversial topic. Scientists tell us that the earth has available to its diverse population (human, fauna and flora) services provided by our ecosystems, and natural resources, which fuels a variety of processes necessary for life to be sustained. Some of these natural resources, such as water and land, are non-renewable. The biophysical reality of a diminishing natural resource base, especially non-renewable resources, is therefore of particular concern and importance. In response, international treaties and protocols are signed, and across the world citizens are encouraged to live more sustainably. Globally audiences are provided with numbers and data pertaining to the looming crises in terms of the availability of essential resources – and we are shocked. In a world where knowledge and information, no matter its origin, validity or reliability, is readily available, the state and sustainability of our natural resources, as well as our collective and individual role in curbing or exacerbating the situation, is open to perceptions, inferences, interpretations and constructions. Currently, many scientists are looking at ways to manage these resources in an equitable and sustainable way that can serve both human and natural stakeholders. High on the agenda is the availability of these natural resources, their sustainable management, and their ostensible scarcity. However, when ‘scarcity’ does not have the same meaning to all stakeholders involved, the management and distribution of resources, as well as coping strategies for risk and vulnerability become complex and easily misdiagnosed. Hence, I suggest that one has to go beyond the conventional and current dominant framings of natural resource scarcity. Rather, one should interrogate the intuitive metaphors, frameworks of explanation, socio-political processes, worldviews and epistemologies within which narratives of scarcity are constructed and produced...D.Phil. (Anthropology

The politics of establishing catchment management agencies in South Africa: the case of the Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Agency

We reflect on the politics of establishing catchment management agencies in South Africa with a specific focus on the Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA), which was recently replaced by the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA). We do so by applying the framework of adaptive comanagement and its institutional prescriptions: collaboration, experimentation, and a bioregional approach. We start by introducing the history of this catchment management agency (CMA) and then describe the establishment of CMAs in South Africa in general and that of BOCMA in particular. We follow the framework for rule types and types of river basin organizations set out by the editors of this special feature with reference to adaptive comanagement where applicable. We then discuss the politics and strategies involved in the introduction of the CMA concept to the National Water Act and the latest developments around these institutions in South Africa. This is followed by reflections on what can be surmised about BOCMA's democratic functioning and performance to date. We conclude by reflecting on the future of operations of the new BGCMA and CMAs in South Africa in general. While our research shows that BOCMA's establishment process has featured several elements of adaptive comanagement and its institutional prescriptions, it remains to be seen to what extent it is possible to continue implementing this concept when further developing and operationalizing the BGCMA and the country's other CMAs

Strategies for promoting Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) in the agribusiness sector in Kenya: experiences from the field

This report aims to explore the intersection of gender and social inclusion, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities faced by women and youth in the agribusiness sector. It examines the ways in which gender norms and stereotypes shape social inclusion, and how exclusionary practices can perpetuate gender-based inequalities. The report draws on the gender analysis studies, baseline surveys and positive case study examples from diverse settings to highlight the key issues and strategies for promoting Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) in the agribusiness sector. It also offers recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and civil society actors to enhance gender-responsive approaches to social inclusion, and to ensure that marginalized groups are included in decision-making processes and benefit from development interventions and underscores the importance of addressing gender-based discrimination and promoting social inclusion as a means of advancing human rights and achieving sustainable development. These include measures such as inclusive disruptive innovation, equal involvement in policy making processes, inclusive market and production systems and representation in decision making. The report emphasizes that promoting GESI is not only a matter of social justice, but also essential for achieving sustainable development goals and building more resilient societies